“Many people asked me about my decision to allow my sons to follow the footsteps of their late father. I guess I cannot blame them as it is quite natural for anyone to have such fears. But it has been their ambition,” she told FMT.
Her late husband, Eugene Choo Jin Leong, was the captain of the Boeing aircraft operating flight MH17 which was shot down by a missile over Ukraine in 2014.
Loi said her answer to those who asked about her sons’ career choices was to say that driving on the roads is more dangerous than flying. “I have given them my full blessings and encouraged them all the way,” she said, adding that it could also be a fine way for the boys to remember their father.
Her elder son Melvic, 23, is a pilot with AirAsia while his brother Scott, 21, has just completed his aeronautical engineering degree in the UK and has applied to MAS and AirAsia to join their flying programmes.
Loi said she met her husband on the job a few times while she was a cabin crew with Malaysia Airlines. It was on a flight to Melbourne, Australia that they confessed their love for each other.
“It was a special moment I will remember my entire life. He was a wonderful colleague and always kind to all. Everyone just loved to be on his flight when he was captain. He was meticulous in his job and gave his all throughout the flights,” she said.
Loi said they marked their special bond by naming their first son Melvic, an acronym for Melbourne, Victoria.
As a father, she said, Choo was very gentle and made sure he spent most of his free time with his two boys, encouraging them in whatever they were interested in doing. Melvic was 13 while Scott 11 when they lost their father.
Flight MH17 with 298 people on board was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was downed by a BUK missile on July 17, 2014 while flying over the conflict-hit eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. The victims were from 17 countries and included 198 Dutch nationals, 43 Malaysians, 38 Australians, and 10 from the United Kingdom.
Moment of truth
Recalling the moment when a few of his close colleagues came to her house to break the news of the tragedy, Loi said she just went numb and could not remember what happened in the first few hours after that.
“I was lost completely and my mind was blank. So many of our MAS colleagues and relatives were around but I cannot remember what I was doing,” she said.
“Only after several hours did it dawn upon me that I had lost my dear husband to a deadly missile attack.” She said she could not stop crying for days on end as the sudden loss and emptiness was overpowering
“But eventually, with the help of my relatives and friends who were amazingly nice and caring, I realised life has to go on and that I have two boys to see through. Eugene’s positive thoughts and contributions have always guided me to become a strong mother to his sons,” she said.
Asked if she harboured any anger towards the Russian or Ukrainian governments over the attack, Loi said all she wants is to see justice done, and does not wish to get involved in the politics of the whole issue.
“My focus is on my family and to keep them happy, remembering the good deeds of Eugene. I leave the rest to the governments involved.”
Proud moment
Melvic started flying with AirAsia two years ago after undergoing training as a pilot with the airline. He said thoughts of his late dad do come to his mind when flying but that makes him braver.
“When I got my wings, it was a proud moment for me and my mother. We all knew my father was watching with pride from somewhere and giving his blessings,” he said.
He said Scott would be returning from his studies in the UK soon and the family hoped that he would be successful in taking up pilot training with MAS or AirAsia.
Memorial event
As a tribute to those who perished in the MH17 tragedy, the 10th anniversary commemoration will be held on July 17 at the MH17 National Monument near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, according to the Netherlands Embassy.
Two Russians, Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubinsky, and a Ukraine national, Leonid Kharchenko, have been sentenced in absentia to life in prison by a court in The Hague. They were found guilty on Nov 17, 2022 of causing the downing of MH17 and the murder of all 298 people on board.
The court also ordered the three men to pay more than €16mil (RM96 million) in compensation to the victims’ next of kin.